Angela Murdaugh is an American Catholic
religious sister
A religious sister (abbreviated ''Sr.'' or Sist.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to pr ...
in the
Franciscan Sisters of Mary, a
Certified Nurse‐Midwife
In the United States, a Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) is a nurse midwife who exceeds the International Confederation of Midwives essential competencies for a midwife and is also an advanced practice registered nurse, having completed registere ...
. She was a pioneer in promoting nurse midwives and
birth centers. Out of this passion, she founded the Holy Family Birth Center in
Weslaco, TX
Weslaco is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 41,103, and in 2020 the estimated population was 41,103. It is located at the southern tip of Texas in the Rio Grande Valley near the Mexic ...
in 1983.
The birthing center was successful in many ways and became a model for others. "By 2002 the infant mortality rate in Hidalgo County was cut in half due to the center, declared so successful that it was emulated nationally."
She trained midwives there and worked with local schools and factories to teach about health, especially as related to pregnancy and baby care. She was involved in the developing of policies and laws related to midwifery practice and birth centers in Texas. On the
national level she was also instrumental in writing National Association of Childbearing Center's Standards for Birth Centers. Also, she contributed to the recognition of nurse-midwives as qualified Medicaid providers, being honored by receiving the first Medicaid provider number issued to a nurse midwife in Texas.
Sr. Murdaugh "credits her decision to become a certified nurse midwife in part to Sr. Mary Charitas Iffrig, who introduced her to natural childbirth."
She retired from Holy Family Birth Center in 2007.
Honors
* Elected president of the American College of Nurse Midwives
* Midwives Alliance of North American gave her their highest honor—the Sage Femme Award
* Named to
Texas Women's Hall of Fame (2002)
* Texas Nurse of the Year Award (1978),
* American College of Nurse Midwives ''Hattie Hemschemeyer Award'' (1990)
* Social Justice Award (1998)
*
Doctor of Humane Letters from
Villanova University
Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...
(2005)
Notes
External links
Texas Women's Hall of FameFranciscan Sisters of Mary website
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
American midwives
Franciscan nuns
20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns
21st-century American Roman Catholic nuns
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